Brands Aren’t Meeting Customer Experience Expectations: Survey

Think your brand is doing a great job of providing excellent customer experiences? Your customers might not agree.

Nearly half of consumers say brands aren’t meeting expectations when it comes to customer experience (CX), despite increasing investments in marketing technology, according to a new survey from Acquia.

More than 5,000 consumers and 500 marketers provided input for the “Closing the CX Gap: Customer Experience Trends 2019” report, which found that for many, technology has become more of a barrier than an enabler for a great customer experience.

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Two-thirds of consumers surveyed could not recall when a brand last exceeded their expectations. Marketers were more confident in their performance, but there’s a definite disconnect. Eight-seven percent of marketers said they were hitting the mark in delivering engaging customer experiences, but 4 in 5 of those same marketers felt disappointed by their own consumer experiences.

Marketers are struggling to balance the need to personalize communications, with the need to ensure data privacy. Many marketers surveyed—65 percent—believe they are compliant with best data practices, but 61 percent of consumers don’t think brands are using their personal information intelligently to predict their needs.

Still, in some instances, marketers are often tougher on brands than consumers.

Forty-four percent of marketers strongly agreed that online experiences with brands needed to be easier. In contrast, only 18 percent of consumers agreed with that sentiment. And, 77 percent of marketers agreed that they often abandoned a brand when the online experience is poor, compared to only 63 percent of consumers.

Does more technology make providing better CX simpler? Not necessarily: Nearly three-fourths of marketers said tech has made it tougher to offer personalized experiences to customers, as tech in silos makes it touch to get a clear view of customers. Still, nearly 62 percent of marketers surveyed plan to spend more on martech next year.